With the Champions League back in the fold, there’s a feeling
that the football season has gotten into full swing, and today is arguably the
biggest day of the season with clashes between title contenders in Italy,
Holland, France and England from morning to night.
Inter Milan went from title contenders to tragic laughing
stocks last season in an injury horror show of epic proportions, but seem to
have a bright future and can keep pace with the best of Serie A with victory at
last season’s Serie B Champions Sassuolo this morning.
The Nezzauri finished last season in a lowly ninth but upto
halfway, hsd been leading contenders in a title race that would eventually
become rather one sided in Juventus’s favour, with Inter being destroyed by
injures that took away more than 11 first team players and saw the team’s weak
defence collapse on several occasions. This, and many other things about a side
that had been rapidly ageing after their treble success of three years ago, has
been changed by Walter Mazzari since his arrival. The arrival of Mazzari
favourite Hugo Camapangro from Napoli has given the back four an entirely new
feel with Juan Jesus and Jhnathan both benefitting hugely from his presence,
while Ricky Alvares and Fredy Guarin have both had strong start to the season,
supplying Rodrigo Palacio with plenty of firepower.
Exceedingly comfortable in their two wins against Genoa and
Catania, they took the lead against Juventus and may well have won had they not
suffered a slight lapse in concentration which allowed the champions to
euqliase and if contuining in the same vein, they have too much quality for
last season’s Serie B Champions, who have lost all three so far and let in 4 in
their only home game.
Soon afterwards, we have the Rome Derby, one of Europe’s
fieriest games, with Roma at the top of Serie A and unbeaten in three hotly
fancied to take that to four in four against a Lazio side, who barring a heavy
thumping against Juve, haven’t done too badly for themselves with two wins from
three including a first half blitz against Chievo that saw them cruise to a 3-0
win.
Roma are favourite thanks to their home advantage and top of
the table position, but the gap between the two sides looks big given how
little has generally separated the pair over the past two seasons and the fact
that Roma have only picked up one point in their last four Serie A derbies.
A better bet from a value position might be for the bookings
points. Since the 2011/12 season the booking points totals have come upto 100,
85, 130, 120 and 95 in league games, making the odds against on 90 or more
bookings points quite attractive when one notices that where have been nine red
cards in the last six derbies. The 17/2
that both sides have a player sent off is tempting – it’s happened twice in the
last three seasons – with the 15/8 that Lazio lose a man for the 4th
straight season also making appeal.
Later on, Napoli can stretch their unbeaten run against AC
Milan and stamp their title credentials on Serie A, and look to be some of the
best value in Europe to do so. Best of the rest in Serie A last year, Napoli
have spent the massive fee PSG gave them for Edison Cavani in style by adding a
whole host of new options to give the squad more depth, chief amongst them
being ex Madristas Gonazlo Higuain and Jose Callejon, both of whom were central
in their midweek win over Borussia Dortmund, following on from three Serie A
wins to start the season.
In the ex Madrid pair, up and coming superstar Lorenzo
Insigne, and the superb Marek Hamsik,
Napoli have a whole range of attacking threats being completed by Christian
Maggio and Juan Zuniga coming from deep and a solid centre pairing of
midfielders Valon Behrami and Goekhan Inler. It’s lead to a much more blanced
side that have put in some superb performances in Bentiez’s short time there,
and it spells trouble for a Milan side that haven’t hit their straps fully yet
and are still suffering from injuries in key areas. Milan were in trouble for
much of their 2-0 win in midweek over Celtic and face a side of much great
quality here in attacking areas, so take the 2/1 that Coral dangle on an away
win.
Italy’s title race could have as many as 7 sides in it, but
France’s is expected to be the two horse race situation that has taken much of
Europe and PSG can take the lead in Ligue 1 back from Monaco in the headline
French clash in Paris this evening.
Monaco have made an excellent start to this season
domestically, as one would expect given the huge investment that Russian
oligrach Dmitry Ryboloev has pumped into the club, bringing in Radmel Falcao,
James Rodriguez, Joao Moutiiho, Ricardo Cavalho and Eric Abidal in a summer
spending splurge that has left them as the biggest title contenders to PSG.
And while they’ve been unbeaten this season and go into this
clash top of the table, they face a PSG side that, with the considerable
advantage of playing infront of their fearsome Parisian army, has begun to hit
their best form after another spending splurge for the second summer in a row.
Their second half performance in the Champions League was
their best of the season, turning what had looked set to be a close game into
an absolute rout, and the difference in fluidity and creativity from them and
their previous performances in the league, which started with two draws in
rather stuttering fashion.
New centre back Marquinihios has settled in very well
alongside Thiago Silva to make a rock solid centre back pairing that will
present Monaco with their stiffest test yet in attack, while their midfield of
Moura, Matuidi, Veratti, and Pastore could overrun Monaco with Moutinihio he
only international Ranieri can call upon to make a difference there, and with
Cavani and Ibrahimovic fitting together well so far, they have the extra edge
in all departments for us today.
Advice - Serie A
6 pts Inter (5/6 Bet365)
0.5 pts Both sides to receive red card in Roma v Lazio (17/2
Paddy Power)
1 pt Lazio to receive red card (15/8 Paddy Power)
2 pts Napoli (2/1 Coral)
Advice – Ligue 1 (PSG v Monaco)
3 pts PSG (5/6 general)
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